Arrest made in Missouri tractor theft

A Mississippi County, Missouri, man has been arrested on a theft charge. The county’s sheriff’s department says he is accused of "disassembling and stealing all the removable parts from a John Deere chisel plow."

The plow was parked in a rural field in the Missouri county, and deputies say the theft was reported last week by a local business owner. The sheriff’s department says surveillance images show 40-year-old Gordon "Bruce" Chapman Jr., of East Prairie, was in the area the night the equipment was stolen.

The sheriff’s department says it was able to recover the stolen disassembled plow after receiving information that it was hidden on conservation property near the field from which it was taken, and found Chapman on Thursday. Deputies also say the tire treads on Chapman’s truck matched tire tracks at the site of the theft.

Chapman went to the sheriff’s department and participated in a video recorded interview. Afterwards, he was arrested and taken to the Mississippi County Detention Center. He’s charged with theft/stealing property valued in excess of $25,000, as well as first degree property damage and first degree trespass.